"Ugh..." was all I could reply. I tried focusing once more. Third times the charm right? I closed my eyes imagining the outside as it was without the jello or the nutella... And then carefully I opened my eyes. "Finally..." I said with a sigh. Everything was now clear of nutella. "There..." I said, looking around in case I missed something. But everything was back to it's pit of doom marshmellowyness. Except for the faces of the famiglia... which some of them looked as if they wanted to kill me.

"Umm... Bye bye!" I shouted over my shoulder as I rushed towards the mansion.

Finally the stickiness subsided. Everything was back to normal... at least as normal as life in the Mafia ever was. I felt my snake-y face contort into a murderous expression.

"Umm... Bye bye!" Rosa yelled over her shoulder as she sprinted in the direction of the Mansion. I started slithering after her. No no, girlie, if we have to be tortured by Lidia, you're going down with us. Only a snake is not fast enough to keep up with a vampire. Even a vampire snake. I quickly shook off the scales, only to be replaced with fur, sleek black fur. A panther should be fast enough. I kicked it into high gear and sped off after Rosa.

Before Queenie had finished inspecting whether or not she had splinched, something hard crashed into her, the sound of boulders toppling down a mountain shook throughout the mansion. Now Queenie was on the floor, an arm tangled around a leg that did not belong to her.

"Rosa?" Queenie asked softly, an eye closed. "You're not going to cover me in more liquidy goo, are you?"

"Ugh!" I said, running into Queenie. "No, sorry! Whoops!! I must fly!" Ali was right after me... as a panther, and I had to get away. "To the skies!" I shouted, I swiftly untangled myself from Queenie and in mid-leap turned into a peregrine falcon. The markings and coloration was all wrong, since I didn't have much time to concentrate... but I got the shape and size correct. Peregrines were the fastest bird on earth... as well as the fastest animal... And I needed speed to get away from the huge black cat that was intent on getting me.

I swiftly soared into the sky, angling my wings to catch the wind to steer me up as far as I could go. Along with the feeling of exhilaration, I couldn't help but to admire how pretty everything looked from up here.

I watched in complete frustration as a few animals escaped from the cage- effectively finding the loophole in my spell.

I groaned and slumped against the tree, watching Alexis flap his wings and fly above me before taking the platinum chain around my neck and wrapping my fingers around the delicate silver crescent that was placed there. I observed carefully as it caught the soft light from the trees above before I released it with a sigh.

"Umm... Bye bye!" I heard Rosa yell, her voice laced with panic. I immediately straightened, my eyes flying to the image. I watched as Rosa ran towards the house and out of the area around the pit- leaving my line of sight. Before she left I could see that she was being pursued by a snake that morphed into a panther- and even though I knew it was unlikely that she could be harmed by it, I grew concerned.

I wonder what would happen if two shape shifters got into a fight...

Oh dang it!

"I better go over there and do something, or I doubt it will end well." I told Alexis as I rose from the floor and dusted off the dirt that was on my cloak before casting a spell and walking forward.

I heard Rosa slam into something inside the Mansion. Good, it gave me time to catch up. Correction, someone. I heard Queenie's voice speaking to Rosa. Then, a small bird flew out the door. It was Rosa, only Rosa could turn into a tie-dyed peregrine falcon. 'Kay, guess we're taking this to the skies. I jumped and almost caught Rosa with a swipe of my paw but missed by only half an inch. I reached farther into my jump, the fur falling away, replacing itself with feathers. A bald eagle may not be as fast as a peregrine, but eagles were master hunters...

Queenie regarded this strange display of cat and mouse curiously. A question formulated in her head, as if completely out of nowhere and thought up by someone other than herself. What would happen if two shapeshifters got into a brawl? There was a silence as if an answer was expected to appear right then and there in the living room.

What would happen if two power thieves such as herself got into a brawl? A wave of deja vu weaved through her and she felt as she somehow already knew the answer to that question.

The sound of something shattering from upstairs broke her train of thought.

I gave a screech of fright as the panther's paw barely missed my tail feathers. I swiftly pulled up in time to avoid a mauling... but then suddenly, the panther transformed into something that would be harder to evade... An eagle. I gave another screech, swerving to avoid Ali. Eagles were larger, and could be rather fast... but a falcon would be more agile... At least that's what I hoped.

Crystal Castles is blasting as I continue to prune the remaining Black roses I've been growing for the past month. I can't believe how good they're turning out! Ha! My head feels like it's on fire, though. When did the sun come out? I reflexively look at my wrist but of course there's no watch on it. Suddenly, the trippy trance music cuts short like someone literally just pulled the plug.

"Aw, what the hell." I whine, ripping the headphones out of my ears.

It's just in time to hear someone not too far away from the garden. Something about guys? I shrug and continue pruning but it's still talking...calling?